The Wilcannia Mob
Encyclopedia
The Wilcannia Mob is a rap
/hip-hop
musical group of five aboriginal
boys from Wilcannia, New South Wales
, Australia
. The group members are Wally Ebsworth, Keith Dutton, Colin "Colroy" Johnson, Lendal King, and Buddy Blair. The boys were discovered by Sydney based guerilla artist Morganics during his children's musical and theatre workshops which took place in Wilcannia in October 2001.
They issued a single in 2002 called "Down River" which won a Deadly
Single Release of the Year award in 2003. The didgeridoo
made from a gum branch by group member Colin Johnson appears in the song. "Down River" was reissued on a CD entitled All You Mob (ABC Records) which included more of their songs and others recorded in outback
communities elsewhere. They made their live performance debut at Sydney's Homebake Festival in December 2002. "Down River" appeared at number 51 on Triple J's Hottest 100 Countdown for the year 2002.
The Sri Lankan-British singer-musician M.I.A.
featured the boys singing "Down River" on the track "Mango Pickle Down River" on her 2007 album, Kala
.
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
/hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
musical group of five aboriginal
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
boys from Wilcannia, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The group members are Wally Ebsworth, Keith Dutton, Colin "Colroy" Johnson, Lendal King, and Buddy Blair. The boys were discovered by Sydney based guerilla artist Morganics during his children's musical and theatre workshops which took place in Wilcannia in October 2001.
They issued a single in 2002 called "Down River" which won a Deadly
The Deadlys
The Deadlys are an annual celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. Vibe Australia hosts the awards, which for have been held at the Sydney Opera House since 2001. The first Deadly awards were held in 1995...
Single Release of the Year award in 2003. The didgeridoo
Didgeridoo
The didgeridoo is a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia around 1,500 years ago and still in widespread usage today both in Australia and around the world. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe"...
made from a gum branch by group member Colin Johnson appears in the song. "Down River" was reissued on a CD entitled All You Mob (ABC Records) which included more of their songs and others recorded in outback
Outback
The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia, term colloquially can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush".-Overview:The outback is home to a...
communities elsewhere. They made their live performance debut at Sydney's Homebake Festival in December 2002. "Down River" appeared at number 51 on Triple J's Hottest 100 Countdown for the year 2002.
The Sri Lankan-British singer-musician M.I.A.
M.I.A. (artist)
Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam , better known by her stage name M.I.A. , is an English singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, painter and director of Sri Lankan Tamil descent. Her compositions combine elements of hip hop, electronica, dance, alternative and world music. M.I.A...
featured the boys singing "Down River" on the track "Mango Pickle Down River" on her 2007 album, Kala
Kala (album)
Kala is the second studio album by British musician M.I.A., released in August 2007. The album features musical styles ranging from dance music to alternative hip hop and makes extensive use of South Asian music such as that of the urumee, a drum used in gaana music native to Tamil Nadu, India. It...
.